The US House of Representatives rejects the spending bill as the US moves closer to a partial government shutdown.

The United States House of Representatives has rejected a spending bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump, raising the likelihood of a partial government shutdown as millions of Americans prepare to travel during the holiday season.

The bill was defeated by a vote of 174 to 235 on Thursday evening, after nearly all Democrats and 38 far-right Republicans opposed it. They had taken the unusual step of opposing the president-elect’s proposal on the grounds that it would add trillions of dollars to the $36 trillion national debt.

The Republican-led bill was a last-ditch effort to avert a government shutdown after an earlier spending package failed amid eleventh opposition from Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and tech mogul Elon Musk.

The original spending bill, negotiated by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, had bipartisan support until Trump demanded that lawmakers raise the debt ceiling or eliminate it altogether before he took office on Jan. 20.

With his inauguration just weeks away, Trump is believed to want to avoid a debt limit dispute that could derail his plans for sweeping tax cuts and border security measures that would require trillions of dollars in borrowed funds.

The Trump-backed bill would have extended federal funding for three months, pushed back the debt limit to 2027 and provided $110 billion for disaster relief.

Before Thursday’s vote, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the Trump-backed bill “not serious” and “ridiculous.”

“Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us toward a government shutdown,” Jeffries said.

Republicans also criticized the bill and expressed concern about out-of-control spending.

“I will not vote for another debt limit increase without knowing what the actual cuts will be. “That’s not an approach,” Republican hardliner Chip Roy told US media.

Johnson said after the failed vote that his party would regroup and “find another solution.”

“So stay tuned,” he told reporters.

Without a plan, the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown starting Friday midnight, when the latest round of funding expires.

A shutdown would mean more than 2 million federal workers would go without a paycheck before the holiday season in the U.S., leading to immediate budget cuts across the U.S. government, from immigration to the National Park Service.

For non-government workers, a closure could mean longer queues at the airport in what is already the busiest travel season of the year.

Certain airport employees, such as air traffic controllers, would still have to work without pay, but the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that up to 17,000 workers would have to be furloughed.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which considers all but 3,000 of its 62,000 employees to be “essential,” has warned of possible delays.

“While our staff is prepared to handle high volumes of travel and ensure safe travel, please be aware that an extended closure could result in longer wait times at airports,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a post on X.